Thursday 11 Jun 2020
Network Rail urges Anglia residents to stay safe at level crossings as people choose alternatives to public transport
- Region & Route:
- Eastern: Anglia
With more people cycling and walking as an alternative to using public transport, Network Rail is reminding everyone to stay safe at level crossings as part of International Level Crossings Awareness Day today (Thursday 11 June).
As lockdown measures are eased across the country, people are being asked to only use public transport if absolutely essential. This means more people are walking or cycling in order to get to work or school and Network Rail’s community safety manager for Anglia, Becky Crocker, wants to remind everyone to stay safe.
There have been two high profile incidents in the Anglia region recently, including one at Brimsdown level crossing in Enfield where a pedestrian narrowly avoided being hit by a train after walking through the lowered barriers. A second incident occurred at East Gates Level Crossing in Colchester where a cyclist rode across the crossing as the barriers were lowering.
Becky said: “I think it's great that people are finding new ways to get to work or school like walking and cycling. Unfortunately, I've seen incidents recently where people have taken huge risks and I want people to understand how dangerous this is and how to cross safely. I've created a safety video which explains the dangers and there's more information about the different types of level crossings and how to use them safely on our website.
"As a general rule, level crossing users should stop, look and listen before crossing and adhere to any further guidance or warnings in place. The rules and warnings are there to help keep you safe."
Please note:
- Act safely at level crossings, follow the signs in front of you
- Stop, look and listen
- Trains are still running, so take extra care when crossing the railway
Information about level crossings, including a map of locations, is available at https://www.networkrail.co.uk/communities/safety-in-the-community/level-crossing-safety/
Notes to Editors
Notes to editors
If you post this story on social media channels, please use #ILCAD2020 and #LevelCrossingSafety
For more information about International Level Crossing Awareness Day go to https://ilcad.org/
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office - Katie Mack
Media relations manager (Anglia route)
0330 8577 132
Katie.Mack@networkrail.co.uk
About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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